Somehow Valentine’s Day-inspired lines are hotter than ever in 2012 – and Basic Grey’s new Kissing Booth line that is now available in stores combines a vintage feel with modern design seamlessly.

This line brings to mind everything I loved about Basic Grey back when they were a new company, while bringing current trendy patterns and fresh designs into the mix. Indeed, like the Christmas line before it (Nordic Holiday), Basic Grey is making the holidays filled with vintage chic-inspired products.

The scrapbooking world is emerging from a barrage of Christmas projects just in time to start crafting for the next holiday: Valentine’s Day! Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about what paper line(s) you’re going to use for your Valentine’s Day cards, since the big day of all things pink, hearted, and mushy is a mere six weeks away! Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to shop for your supplies and make your cards without feeling rushed.

After my roundup of Christmas scrapbooking lines went live here on Scrapbook Update, I received many, many requests to do a similar article for each holiday. I can’t promise that I’ll do one for every special day on the calendar (there just aren’t that many paper lines for Talk Like a Pirate Day, you know?), but when there are enough themed lines to warrant a roundup, I’ll be sure to post them to keep you all informed!

As with the Christmas roundup, I’m listing all the Valentine’s Day paper lines that were released either at or after CHA Summer 2011 and have scoured the vastness of the interwebs to bring you representative photos of each. They’re listed in alphabetical order, and, since there aren’t nearly so many of them as there were Christmas lines, I’ll also give a little commentary on each.

Ready to start seeing pink? Let’s get going!

Basic Grey – Kissing Booth

Kissing Booth is a mix of basic patterns (I spy doilies and herringbone in the mix) and sweet watercolor images. This line uses brown as a contrast color and is one of the few cream-based collections in the roundup.

This week has felt like one of review and preparation. From all of the reviews here at Scrapbook Update, to people preparing to take on big December and holiday crafting, and companies quietly working on new products and releases for 2012, it feels like the calm before the (holiday) storm.

Looking for a cute place card for your Thanksgiving table? Check out this tutorial from Doodlebug’s blog. I think this could be done with a rosette die (if you’ve got one), but I like how Stephanie used a scallop border punch to create hers. I think this would be great to use at a kids table, or even take the turkey off the placecard and use this idea as a homemade embellishment on your scrapbook layout. Continue Reading →

The days are getting shorter here, which means they seem to fly by that much faster. I can hardly believe another week has passed, and it’s time to share the noteworthy stories I’ve found:

Let’s start with a company and their customers who have made a $60,000 donation possible! I’m talking about Stampin’ Up! and their recent donation to the BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A special Strength & Hope stamp set and Strength & Hope digital kit were designed specifically for the campaign, and contained inspirational messages and images. Both were promoted through Stampin’ Up! direct-sales representatives, also known as demonstrators.

BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide. For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

It’s always so wonderful to see a company doing something to give back and working towards making a difference for a cause.

The big happening this week is in Minnesota, where there are more of the craft industry glitterati (and ink-eratti?) gathering to teach, work at, or attend Archiver’s ScrapFest than you’ll see outside CHA. In fact, ScrapFest may arguably be the biggest consumer craft event happening in the United States this year. If you’re in the area – watch for your favorite craft personalities. Between ScrapFest and The Creative Connection event, the Twin Cities are crawling with crafters and industry leaders!

For those of us not at this weekend’s event, we have plenty to be excited about and check out. Here are this week’s noteworthy stories:

Tim Holtz announced that he has worked with Ranger on releasing a limited edition set of seasonal distress inks. The set of three fall colors (ripe persimmon, gathered twigs, and seedless preserves) will be sold together as a stacked set. Continue Reading →